One of the key cornerstones of the group is the "idols you can meet" concept. Therefore, fan involvement sets the group apart from other groups. So the senbatsu voting determines who I would watch in the various music videos, another cornerstone of the group. Milky's pretty obviously my oshi....therefore there's a good segment of the current senbatsu that I absolutely can't stand, four in particular...2 of which are probably in the group "most popular overall". I hate watching SKE48 vids cuz I have to watch them from beginning to end and only watch glances from the rest. As a result, the group altogether is less appealing....tough to be a fan when your fav is on the outside looking in, those one doesn't like are at the top and those I don't like are front and center in all video/TV appearances. Just learned today that NMB48, either by design or otherwise, is a bit different from the rest....another whammo.

So with that said, it's not that tough to shut it down especially with new, up and coming artists blowing up right now. ELT, Hikki, MoMusu, Ikimono Gakari all were at the top of the list at some point, but have fallen in my eyes....AKB48 group will eventually as well, it's a matter of when, not if.

One of the key cornerstones of the group is the "idols you can meet" concept. Therefore, fan involvement sets the group apart from other groups. So the senbatsu voting determines who I would watch in the various music videos, another cornerstone of the group. Milky's pretty obviously my oshi....therefore there's a good segment of the current senbatsu that I absolutely can't stand, four in particular...2 of which are probably in the group "most popular overall". I hate watching SKE48 vids cuz I have to watch them from beginning to end and only watch glances from the rest. As a result, the group altogether is less appealing....tough to be a fan when your fav is on the outside looking in, those one doesn't like are at the top and those I don't like are front and center in all video/TV appearances. Just learned today that NMB48, either by design or otherwise, is a bit different from the rest....another whammo.

So with that said, it's not that tough to shut it down especially with new, up and coming artists blowing up right now. ELT, Hikki, MoMusu, Ikimono Gakari all were at the top of the list at some point, but have fallen in my eyes....AKB48 group will eventually as well, it's a matter of when, not if.

It depends what aspects of AKB you watch. AKB as a whole has a hell of a lot more content than just music videos. And, as you mention, this is just one music video... the single itself will have half a dozen music videos... AKB still has all the other content - daily theatre shows, concerts, TV shows, and, as you pointed out as "idols you can meet", handshake events and fan interaction on SNS like Google+ and twitter/blogs. She doesn't stop appearing in any of those other content because she doesn't place in the senbatsu for one single. Hell, Miyuki wasn't even in senbatsu for the 2nd NMB single - but after that she was...

Prelim results were not to my liking. Past graduations and the fact some members aren't running are going to skew votes. Takamina isn't my oshi, but dammit she deserves it. We'll wait to see if another vote bomb falls near the end of the voting period. Wasn't sure if it was Mayu that had a ton of votes drop when she won.

I think the big surprise was Fuchigami Mai dropping out of nowhere into senbatsu area. And Sakaguchi Riko in UG (nice poster!).They aren't even considered main girls in HKT. There's like madoka, natsumi, meru, mio... darn long list all lower than her. A little craziness is always fun though.

@alohanoI think Milky's spot is actually great when you try to look at it positively. Think about it. She's just ~1000 votes off from current senbatsu results, still totally possible. And she could always take center of UG, which I honestly think is more cool. UG songs rock!

Yuihan's spot makes me worried though. She's like the goddamn future leader of AKB. And been leader of Team AKAKAKKA (i've forgotten already~).She just wrapped up the Majisuka Gakuen tv drama and stage. Totally active fore-front member for AKB these few years. It'll be a sin not to have her in senbatsu again. {breathe...}. OK. Glad I got that out. Its cool though. Top spots pretty predictable. Actually, most of the spots look ok to me. It'll be fun to see how it'll change in the end results.

ooo yea. Yukirin is hungry for no.1. And unlike all previous years, I actually think she has a shot. Hey, it might be her last run at it, so go get a good spot Yukirin!

ooo yea. Yukirin is hungry for no.1. And unlike all previous years, I actually think she has a shot. Hey, it might be her last run at it, so go get a good spot Yukirin!

It's really amazing how Yukirin suddenly states she wants it, and her fans jump on this and go all out, doubling the number of votes she received from this time last year. Really good to see - well done Yukirin fans!

To commemorate AKB48's '41st Single Senbatsu General Election', an 'AKB48 Senbatsu General Election Museum' will open on June 3rd at Arts Chiyoda 3331 in Tokyo.

The museum will display data of AKB48's General Elections since its first event, as well as posters of the 272 members who are in the running for this year's election. There will also be portraits of the previous winners on display, along with the chair that the winner has the privilege of sitting on.

In addition, there will be a public viewing of this year's General Election on June 6th. Then from June 7th onward, the museum will be filled with photos of the event taken by Leslie Kee.